


A Little Company

by RocketRabbits



Series: Imaax interaction practice [1]
Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff without Plot, Hey whyd we stop calling this ship Imaax that was cute, Interaction practice, Isaac is lonely max is injured they hang out, Just trying to work out how ill write their relationship in the future, M/M, Not too shippy, Post-Canon, Theyre like fourteen/fifteen, third person present tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 16:37:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13768173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RocketRabbits/pseuds/RocketRabbits
Summary: Isaac is lonely, Max is injured. A little company goes a long way.





	A Little Company

**Author's Note:**

> Working title: two bros snuggle real close cause theyre def gay

He finds Isaac skulking around the convenience store when he gets back and instinctively reaches for his cell phone, wondering if he missed a message, wondering how long Isaac had been there.

"I had evening patrol," Max says. "How long have you been loitering here?"

"Um," Isaac says, pushing off the cement wall, "like, twenty minutes? Your sister tried to invite me in."

"Smart of you not to go," Max pushes the door open, his aching shoulders relaxing at the ding of the bell. Home is exactly what he needed.

"Grab a snack if you want to, man. My dad won't have anything that's not three day old pizza."

"Isn't it immoral to steal, even if it's from your own shop?"

Max snorts, lifting a bag of jerky from the back of the hanger. "I'll write it down, he can take it out of my chore money, or whatever. Satisfied?"

"Jeez," Isaac sighs, reaching for a pack of sunflower seeds under the pressure of Max's crooked eyebrow. "You try to help someone-"

"Oh, yeah, because I need a moral guardian. Thanks, Isaac. Who would I be without your unflappably correct guidance?"

"Whatever, Max."

Max notices the defeat in Isaac's voice, knows he'd have fallen for the taunt any other day, and instead of acknowledging it, Max opens the counter for his companion ("age before beauty, Isaac," "would you please just shut up?") and sends them both up the stairs.

"Oh, Max!" PJ squeaks from over the banister, "Your spectral boy- oh, no, he's still here. You found him. Nevermind."

"Thanks anyway, PJ," Max says, and it's enough to please, he guesses, because PJ flits away without another word.

"Does he know my name?"

"Of course he does. Sure he does. You're here enough."

"I don't think he's ever called me something other than 'spectral boy' though."

"I can talk to him," Max offers as they reach the landing. "Dad? Zoey?" 

"In here," Dad calls, peeking his head out from the kitchen, "grabbing something to drink. Zoey's at a friend's. Hey, Isaac. Spending the night?"

"Hey, Mr. Puckett," Isaac says, and sort-of glances at Max. "Maybe."

Dad nods. "Son, pizza's in the fridge."

"Yeah. Thanks, dad." Max turns down the hallway to his room, not bothering to wait and see if Isaac is behind him or not, just confident he'd catch up.

"Were you really planning on staying?" Max asks, dropping his backpack by the door, his shoes following closely after. 

"If you wanted," Isaac says, but he says it in that way he says a lot of things, like it's a cue Max is supposed to follow. 

"Sure," he says. "Didn't mean to ditch you after school today. Didn't know I'd have patrol."

"How come you still go back?" This is a conversation they'd had before. Even now when the entire activity club had shifted on to high school, Isabel, Ed, and Max still went back in shifts to check on Spender. 

"Dunno," Max says, but he doesn't meet Isaac's eyes, "guess I just figure Spender still needs some help. Did you go home at all?"

Isaac finishes untying his shoes and laying his backpack neatly on top of them in time to look back up at Max. "No," he says. "I just. I came straight here."

"Is uh, something wrong?"

"Parents are gone for the week. They'll be back next Wednesday."

"Wow, and no raging high school parties?"

Isaac snorts. "Yeah, Max. Me and what booze money?"

"Hey now," Max says, "clutching my pearls, here. Who said anything about age-inappropriate beverages?"

"Okay, in that case, me and what friends?"

Max opts not to answer, instead throwing his ballcap on his desk and collapsing into his bed. Isaac takes one step forward and stops, fidgeting instead with his sweatshirt. "Can I-?"

"Jesus, two years, Isaac. Yeah you can." 

It's all Isaac needs before he strides forward, planting face first into Max's mattress. "I just didn't want to be alone."

"Okay. Glad to have you. Did you want to watch TV or play video games or something?"

"In a minute," Isaac says, "probably. Can we just stay like this for a minute?"

Max sighs, letting his eyes fall closed. "Patrol was Hell today. That stupid bat thing came back and Isabel was dealing with a pack of angry rat ghosts in the basement, and Spender had detention duty, so I couldn't even call for backup. Magnificent jerkwad threw me into a locker bank and screwed up my shoulder." Isaac turns his head to face Max, eyebrows furrowed, but doesn't yet speak. "How is that thing not destroyed yet?"

"Must've been stronger than we thought," Isaac mumbles. "Do you need anything?"

"A nap," Max says. "And after maybe an aspirin."

Isaac watches Max, still, watches his closed eyes squint in pain when he shifts to pull a blanket over the both of them, and leans forward to press a feather-light kiss to his shoulder. He's not entirely sure Max can feel it through his clothes, or if it's even the right arm. "Sorry you're hurt," he says. "Where's your medicine cupboard?"

"Above the sink in the bathroom." Isaac starts to shift when Max says, "you don't have to get up."

"I'm gonna get some water anyway," Isaac says, and Max has no further protest. He pads back in with a water bottle and an aspirin no less than five minutes later. "Max, hey."

Max cracks one eye open and wordlessly takes them both from Isaac, swallowing the pill first, then the water.

"I think you're supposed to swallow them together," Isaac teases.

"I think you can shut your mouth," Max answers.

Isaac laughs and crawls his way back into Max's bed. "You should take a nap, Max. I'm rewatching Sailor Moon."

"Oh, yeah?" Max says. "How many times have you seen it?"

"I'm attacked," Isaac answers. "Cutting deep, here."

"Whatever, Isaac," Max laughs, but he curls further up in his sheets. "Wake me up in half an hour or so, we can play a game."

"Yeah," Isaac says, not really listening,and Max falls asleep to the steady J-pop opening leaking from Isaac's earbuds.

When shifts awake, the room is completely dark, save for the light of Isaac's phone. He's not watching anything, not anymore. "Isaac, what time is it?"

"Oh, eight."

"I fell asleep at four thirty."

"You looked comfortable," Isaac shrugs, switching off his phone and moving to turn Max's bedside lamp on. "And I got caught up in the new episode, and /then/ got in a huuuge argument with some jerk in a Reddit thread. Like, they had the gall to call Crystal better than the original, which-" Isaac stops in time to quell something he can feel bubbling to the surface, and looks over to Max, smirking.

"Wow, you are just such a collossal nerd," Max says. "Every time I think you can't get dorkier you prove me wrong." Isaac flushes, the tips of his ears reddening by the second. "Besides, I'm pretty sure just last week you were telling me it's better than the original."

"That particular episode was better, yes," Isaac answers. Then he pokes Max's forehead. "You picked the dork, man. Take me as I am."

"Or not at all, yeah, yeah. Clearly already have." Max rubs his eyes and sits up. "You sound better."

"I just needed comapny."

"I was asleep the whole time."

Isaac shrugs. "Still nice knowing you're here. Are you feeling better?"

"Still sore, but yeah. Did my dad come in at all?"

"No, but I think he came back upstairs for a while?"

Max runs a hand through his hair. "Weird he didn't ask me to watch the store. We should just hire someone. You want a weekend job?"

"Right, because that's not the slightest bit weird."

"Why not? You're always here anyway, might as well get something out of it. Maybe dad would be impressed by my precocious act of nepotism."

"Pretty sure nepotism is usually for some better outcome."

"Wow," Max whistles, "you're saying working in your boyfriend's family's shop isn't your dream job?"

"Um, not really?"

"Alright, Mr. Better-than-a-decent high-school-job, pick a video game." Isaac rolls his eyes and picks some racing game or another, and Max settles in beside him with the practiced nervousness of a kid two years into his first relationship, a far cry from a loose friendship, an unexpected far cry, but - he glances away from the screen to Isaac, brows furrowed in concentration, tongue nearly poking out in concentration - not an altogether unpleasant one.

**Author's Note:**

> Bluh bluh bluh whats an ending
> 
> Hmu @ owennwright on tumblr for some dweebs but i am uh rarely ever there.
> 
> More to come probs??????? Possibly gayer???? Who knows!


End file.
